Get cashback on your in-store supermarket shopping with your smartphone: Apps that give you back money

Comparison website mySupermarket has launched an app that lets shoppers earn cashback when they buy items in stores.

Shoppers check items off their list via the app on their mobile phone as they make their way around the store.

After paying at the checkout they take a picture of the receipt and upload it to the app to redeem the cash. The sums you'll earn are uncertain because they depend on the items you buy, and whether there is cashback available on them. The designers say shoppers could potentially earn around £9 of cashback on a weekly shop of around £70.

Bargain: The new app from supermarket comparison website mySupermarket lets you earn cashback on in-store purchases by taking a picture of your receipt.

Cashback is paid to members via Paypal twice a week. The amount of cashback that can be collected depends on what items shoppers need and how much they are spending.

mySupermarket said that shoppers could earn cashback on almost 1,000 items at each retailer.

The value of cashback varies depending on the product. For example, shoppers at Tesco can currently get 50p back on a £1.59, 500g bar, of Dr. Oetker Fine Cooks' Milk Chocolate.

Or Sainsbury’s shoppers can get £1 back on a Goodfella's UltraThin Superiore Pepperoni Speciale Pizza costing £3.49.

Shopping: The item lets you select what you've bought in-store and see what you can earn cashback on through taking a picture of your receipt.

Shoppers can use the app to do their shopping online, comparing thousands of products at at Sainsburys, Tesco, Asda, Waitrose, Boots, Superdrug, Ocado and Majestic.

The app works in a similar way to the website, listing cashback, discounts and offers, comparing prices across retailers as well as suggesting cheaper products that you can substitute uinto your shop, all with the aim of saving money on your weekly shop.

The app also boasts clever ways the app can help you cut your shopping bill.

The app includes a section where you can scan items in-store to compare prices at rival supermarkets. It is free to download and it available on iPhones and iPads via the iTunes store.

The company is working on version for Android phones which it hopes to launch next month.

Since launching on Monday the app has been downloaded by 25,000 users.

Similar apps

Bargain checker: The mySupermarket app also lets you scan barcodes to compare prices at rival stores.

This app is free to download for compatible devices from the iTunes store or Google Play and works in a similar way to the other apps.

Shoppers can earn up to £15 from uploading a picture of their weekly shopping receipt via the app.

OUR VIEW

Tara Evans, from This is Money, says:

All four of these cashback apps offer
something but it’s hard to calculate just how much money is up for grabs. It seems like a lot of effort for a few of quid off your weekly shop.

The mySupermarket app goes one step
further and allows you to do your online weekly grocery shop on the
move, so during your commute home on the tube for example.

However, I’m not sure if people will use
it in-store. I don't have any signal in my local supermarket, so I can imagine that would be frustrating. As retailers add free wifi it could be easier.

Also, I don't know how much of a pain it would be to whip out your phone and compare products on your phone while trying to maneuver a trolley down the aisles. I already have my hands full trying to deal with those dodgy wheels.

I’d love to hear from you about what you think and which app you, if any, would use.